Zafira Ouartsi grew up practicing art during her childhood - Ballet, piano and Aoud-
A lawyer by profession, she decided to follow a different path by creating
Artissimo in 2000. The first private school in Algeria entirely dedicated to arts.
Artissimo provided vocational trainings in several artistic field, as well as art
workshops (music, theater, dance etc.). Throughout the years, Artissimo became
a space for cultural dissemination (exhibitions, music performances,
conferences).
In 2020 Artissimo launch a transformation to become a creative hub dedicated to
develop the cultural industry sector.
Backed by her experience in communication and leadership Zafira Ouartsi
boosted her career by putting her cultural entrepreneur skills at the service of
international projects to promote cultures in all their diversity: Festivals,
conferences, masterclass etc.
Appointed as Vice-President of the PNB- NAPEO initiative in 2012 (Partner for a
New Beginning North Africa Partnership for Economic Opportunities, an initiative
launched by Barack Obama), then Vice-President of Global Entrepreneurship
Network (GEN) in 2016, Zafira Ouartsi has been carrying out actions to support
young businesses in the creative field. Guidance, international and multicultural
project management, setting up artistic events, she has thus fulfilled her
responsibility as a cultural entrepreneur by bridging the bridges between art,
culture and business.
Zafira Ouartsi has launched the IFAAL initiative, a project to develop the cultural
and creative industries sector in Algeria by bringing together cultural players, artists,
economic operators and institutions, with the aim of developing an ecosystem
conducive to the emergence of a cultural economy. This project was made possible
thanks to the support of the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), as part of the
cooperation with the Embassy of the United States in Algeria. Zafira aims to develop the IFAAL initiative in the Arab world and Africa